British Columbia is blessed with an abundance of world-class karst, particularly in the Rocky Mountains and on Vancouver Island. Other areas of karst development occur on the Queen Charlotte Islands, along the coastal mainland, in the interior mountain ranges, the Cariboo Mountains, and in northwest BC.

The Rocky Mountains contain the most extensive areas of soluble rock in the province, as well as Canada's longest and deepest documented caves. Subsurface drainage systems, springs, and surface features, such as sinkholes, are common throughout the Rockies, with some of the most notable karst terrain occurring on plateaus as high as 2000 metres.

The full extent and significance of karst in the Rocky Mountains and other parts of the interior are not well understood. Isolated locations, limited ground access, and extreme winter climates have made the exploration and documentation of interior karst lands difficult.

More is known about BC's coastal karst, particularly on Vancouver Island. The high concentration of karst features on Vancouver Island, combined with a long history of cave exploration and the unique association of karst with the coastal temperate rain forest, has focused a great deal of international attention on these coastal forest karst ecosystems.